Fowler maintains lead at Memorial
DUBLIN, Ohio - Rickie Fowler showed poise beyond his 21 years, unfazed by six hours of rain delays Saturday at the Memorial or a series of charges up the leader board to keep his 3-shot lead at Muirfield Village.
DUBLIN, Ohio - Rickie Fowler showed poise beyond his 21 years, unfazed by six hours of rain delays Saturday at the Memorial or a series of charges up the leader board to keep his 3-shot lead at Muirfield Village.
Another long day left him one round away from joining the recent youth movement on the PGA Tour.
Fowler showed some imagination with a cut 9-iron over the water to 6 feet for his first birdie of the round, and he kept bogeys off his card for the second straight day to shoot 3-under 69 to lead Tim Petrovic (68) and Ricky Barnes, who shot a tournament-best 62 while playing alongside Tiger Woods.
"I wasn't expecting 62; you know, maybe 65," Barnes said.
Fowler was at 16-under 200 and had the largest 54-hole lead at the Memorial since Woods led by 6 shots in 2000.
"I'm hitting the ball well," Fowler said. "I kept it out of trouble, and I knew opportunities were coming around. It was a matter of waiting for them."
Fowler will try Sunday to become the third PGA Tour winner in the last six week at age 22 or under, joining Rory McIlroy, who won Quail Hollow two days before his 21st birthday, and Jason Day, who was 22 when he won the Byron Nelson Championship.
Woods, the defending champion, shot a 69 with a double bogey and was 10 shots behind.
Phil Mickelson shot a 70, leaving him 8 shots back.
Elsewhere: Nick Price topped the second-round leader board in the Principal Charity Classic, shooting a 6-under-par 65 to match Tommy Armour III at 10-under 132 in the Champions Tour event at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa. . . . Germany's Marcel Siem shot a 5-under 66 to take a 3-stroke lead into the final round of the Wales Open, while Scotland's Stephen Gallacher broke the course record with a 63. . . . Augusta State and 10-time champion Oklahoma State advanced to the NCAA Division I men's finals in Chattanooga, Tenn. "It is a story of David and Goliath," Jaguars coach Josh Gregory said. "This is obviously our first time in this position, but I can promise you our guys will not be scared."